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After sanctioning a circuit court clerk for failure to comply with civil rule requirements, the Mississippi Supreme Court discovered further lapses and ordered the clerk to show cause why additional sanctions should not imposed. The court then imposed a $5,000 sanction but afforded the court clerk the opportunity to mitigate the penalty by "report[ing] to [the court] on remedial measures in her two offices that would be expected to prevent recurrence of the same or similar errors."

The clerk filed a statement and, in an opinion issued today, the court found that she "has fallen far short of providing this Court any reason to believe a reduction in our most recent sanction...to be appropriate."

The clerk must also pay the sanction from personal funds and provide documentary proof that she has repaid the public account from which the sanction was paid. She also must file a "detailed, written narrative, under oath, meticulously describing what, if any, procedures and practices she has implemented" to assure future rule compliance.

An article from MS Litigation Review linked here provides details about the monetary sanction that had been imposed. (Mike Frisch)